Molten metal vessel suspension system

ABSTRACT

A vessel for molten metal such as a steel converter vessel is suspended within a tiltable hollow ring with a plurality of diaphragms or cantilever beams which each have one end anchored inside of the ring and another end inside of the space surrounded by the ring. The said other ends make a tangential connection with the vessel which is within the ring. The anchored ends of the beams within the ring have openings for permitting circulation of cooling water through the ring. The beams are planar and stand edgewise with respect to the axis of the vessel and ring and the beam edges do not extend in an axial direction beyond the upper and lower faces of the ring.

United States Patent [1 1 Nagati 1 Se t; 4, 1973 MOLTEN METAL VESSEL SUSPENSION SYSTEM [75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: Pennsylvania Engineering Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa.

22 Filed: Dec. 13,1971

21 Appl.No.:207,394

Rashed N. Nagati, New Castle, Pa.

[52] US. Cl 266/36 P, 266/35 [51] Int. Cl. C2lc 5/50 [58] Field of Search 266/35, 36 P [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,575,402 4/1971 Mahringer 266/35 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 2/1964 France 266/36 P Primary ExaminerGerald A. Dost Attorney-Ralph G. I-lohenfeldt and Fred Wiriott [57] ABSTRACT of the vessel and ring and the beam edges do not extend in an axial direction beyond the upper and lower faces of the ring.

13 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTED SEP 4 I925 2 Wu F INVENTOR RASH ED N. NAGATI AT ORNEYS 1 MOLTEN METAL VESSEL SUSPENSION SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to means for supporting various types of metallurgical vessels for handling or treating molten metal. Typical but nonexclusive examples of such vessels are those which are used for the top-blown and bottom-blown basic oxygen refining processes, for argon-oxygen treatment of molten metals, for alloying and for vacuum treatment of metals and the like. The refractory linings and metal shells of such vessels are subject to wide temperature variations and extremely high temperatures which result in development of high and unevenly thermal stresses in the vessel and its supporting ring. These high and unevenly distributed thermal conditions cause all dimensions of the metal shell to undergo unpredictable distortions which are manifested in distance changes between the shell and the structure which supports the shell within it. This structure is usually called a trunnion ring although it is understood that the support may be other than circular. Such distortions must be accommodated by the members which support the shell from the ring. The metal shell also exhibits creep, which means that even though the shell has been cooled, it will not return to its original shape but will be permanently deformed. Because of this deformation and other deteriorating factors, the vessel is replaced periodically but the life of the ring may exceed that of several vessels.

Stresses developed in the metal shell may be transmitted to the supporting ring through the members which extend from the ring to the vessel for supporting the latter. Moreover, the supporting members attain a high temperature during use of the vessel thereby normally requiring a number of heavy members to assure safe suspension of the vessel under all conditions. This also dictates that the clearance between the vessel and the supporting ring be held to a minimum in order to minimize deflection of the supporting members. Minimizing the distance between the vessel and supporting ring is not without its price, however, because proximity of the vessel and ring increases the amount of heat that is transferred from the vessel to the supporting ring, thus causing the latter to be increasingly stressed.

Several schemes have been devised in the past for supporting vessels from a surrounding ring in a manner that is intended to compensate for deformation of the vessel without imposing undue stresses on the ring. The most common practice is to mount the supporting members on the top and bottom surfaces of the supporting ring in a manner that allows the members to slide or yield to compensate for dimensional changes occurring in the vessel shell. These structures are often rather complicated because they must compensate for vessel distortion and creep. The structures usually'have one set of supporting members on top of the ring and another set below the ring so that adequate support will be obtained when the vessel is either upright, tilted or inverted. These yieldable supporting devices often have sites of frictional wear and thus require periodic inspection and maintenance lest their multiplicity of relatively movable parts deteriorate and jeopardize proper support of the vessel. Prior art vessel suspension devices also have the disadvantage of presenting many surfaces on which metal and slag that sputters or slops, as it is called, from the vessel during operation may collect.

This calls for more cleaning and other maintenance as A general object of this invention is to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages by providing a molten metal vessel suspension system which is simple, economical to make, minimizes inspection and maintenance, is unimpaired by slag or other contaminants, is reusable, and has long life compared to the vessel.

A further object of this invention is to provide a suspension system which allows the vessel to assume a state that results in the least internal stress being developed in the vessel and in its supporting ring.

Another object of this invention is to provide a suspension system which allows a relatively great distance between the vessel and its supporting ring so as to accommodate any expected dimensional changes in the vessel and to reduce the quantity of heat which is absorbed by the supporting ring due to radiation from the vessel.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a suspension system wherein the vessel suspending members are adapted to be cooled most effectively in the region where they are subjected to the maximum stress whereby to avoid loss of strength and the need for larger members which would be required if the members were allowed to reach an inordinately high temperature. I Yet another object of this invention is to facilitate uniform distribution of mechanical stresses in the vessel supporting ring and thereby reduce the distortion that has heretofore resulted when forces were transmitted from the vessel to a concentrated region on the supporting ring.

Another important object is to use planar beams to suspend the vessel from its support ring and to have the upperv and lower edges of the beams lie within the height of the ring so that the weight of the vessel is not imposed solely on a top or bottom surface of the ring as in the prior art. I

Still another object is to support a vessel in a manner that allows unrestricted axial thermal expansion of the vessel.

Yet another object is to obtain a desirable temperature and thermal stress distribution pattern in the diaphragms which support a metallurgical vessel.

How the aforementioned and othermore specific objects of the invention are achieved will appear from time to time throughout the course of a detaileddescription of a preferredembodiment of the invention which will be set forth hereinafter. 1

Briefly stated, the new vessel suspension system is characterized by use .of elongated planar beams or diaphragms which normally stand edgewise and have one end extending angularly into a vessel supporting ring. In one embodiment the ring is hollow and the ends of the beams within the supporting ring have openings which permit cooling water to circulate within the ring. The part or end of each beam which extends into the space that is occupied by the vessel within the ring extends from the ring at an angle so as to bear tangentially on the vessel shell to which the end of the beams are fastened. There are a plurality of such angularly disposed beams distributed around the supporting ring to effect a multiple location suspension. The beams or diaphragms are substantially flat members. The load is distributed among all the beams regardless of whether the vessel is vertically oriented or tilted. In other words, the load is not transferred from one set of suspension members to another when the vessel is inverted or tilted as is the case in some prior art designs. I

A more detailed description of the invention will now be set forth in reference to the drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one type of metallurgical vessel supported in a trunnion ring in an upright position, part of the trunnion ring being broken away to show one suspension member in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross section taken on a plane corresponding with 2--2 in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a converter vessel which is one example of a metallurgical vessel to which the new suspension system is applicable. As stated earlier, however, the suspension system is applicable to any metallurgical vessel that is supported within a so-called ring. The vessel comprises a shell which has a bottom in this example and a top opening 12 for charging the vessel with hot metal. The vessel may have a side pouring spout 13 so that its contents may be discharged into a ladle or other suitable receptacle by tilting the vessel rather than inverting it completely. As can be seen in FIG. 2, metal shell 10 is refractory lined on its cylindrical internal wall 14 and its bottom 15.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vessel shell 10 has its longitudinal axis upright and is surrounded by a concentric supporting ring which is usually called a trunnion ring 16. Extending from each side of the trunnion ring 16 area pair of trunnion pins 17 and 18 which are shown fragmentarily. These pins are usually journaled in suitable supports, not shown, and are subject to application of a torque for tilting the trunnion ring and vessel 10 which is supported on the ring. The trunnion pins 17 and 18 may be hollow so as to allow entry and exit of cooling water to the interior of the trunnion ring. In the present example, the trunnion ring interior is intended to be water-cooled but the details of accomplishing this end are omitted since they are known to those skilled in the art.

When the vessel is new and unused, there is a uniform gap 19 between shell 10 and th internal periphery of a trunnion ring 16. Although the invention is illustrated with respect to a vessel 10 and a trunnion ring 16 which appear circular in plan view, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the new vessel suspension system is applicable to ring structures which have other configurations such as polygonal, triangular and square as well.

Trunnion ring 16 comprises a top ring-like flange 20 and a similar bottom flange 21. These flanges are joined at their edges by an upstanding curved internal wrapper plate 22 and a curved external wrapper plate 23. The joints between the flanges 20 and 21 and wrapper plates 22 and 23 are welded. The trunnion ring 16 is essentially a hollow circular box girder in this example. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the trunnion ring 16 may be reinforced internally by a series of circumferentially spaced radially disposed plates each of which has a hole 24 to permit circulation of cooling water, if desired, internally of trunnion ring 16. It will appear that the new means for suspending a vessel in a ring is applicable whether the ring is a hollow box girder or is in another form such as an l-beam or a channel or various other cross-sectional shapes.

In this example, vessel 10 is supported from trunnion ring 16 with six beam means or diaphragms 30-35. Beam 30, which is clearly visible in FIG. 1, typifies all of the beams, and will be described in detail. Beam 30 is a long flat steel member which has one end 36 extending into the interior of trunnion ring 16. The one end 36 could extend in between the flanges of an I- beam or channel, for example, or merely abut against a suitable member if a ring other than a box type were used. This end 36 is provided with a hole 37 so that the flow of cooling water interiorly of the trunnion ring will not be interrupted. The other free end 38 of beam 30 extends at an angle, other than a right angle, relative to a radius of trunnion ring 16 and bears tangentially on vessel shell 10 to which it is fastened by welding or, preferably, by means of rivets or bolts 39. All of the beams in this example extend at substantially the same angle and in the same direction generally circumferentially of the space within ring 16 and its internal perimeter. One may see that the central region of diaphragm or beam 30 bridges the gap 19 between wrapper plate 22 and vessel shell 10. Each of the beams 30-35 supports the vessel in the double cantilever mode and each accepts part of the load when the vessel is upright or tilted.

Internal wrapper plate 22 may be made in segments or may be slotted to permit beams 30-35 to emerge from the interior of the trunnion ring. The joints between intemal wrapper plate 22 and beams 30-35 are weld joints which are designated with the numeral 40. The top edges 41 and the bottom edge 42 of the planar beams are respectively welded to the bottoms and tops of flange rings 20 and 21 of the trunnion ring assembly. The end 43 of the beam is also welded to the internal surface of the external wrapper plate 23. Thus, it will be seen that forces developed by the weight of the vessel and its charge, which may be 1000 tons or more, will be transmitted through beam 30 and variously distributed to the flanges 20 and 21 and the wrapper plates 22 and 23 of trunnion ring 16. Because the end portions 36 of the beams are welded on four sides where said portions are at an incline to a vertical radial plane through the trunnion ring, the stresses are distributed over a greater distance and more evenly to the trunnion ring rather than being concentrated in one small region as in prior art designs. In such prior designs distortion of the vessel shell often caused the load to be highly concentrated on the inner edge of the top flange of the trunnion ring and on the inner wrapper because of the suspension members or beams resting substantially exclusively on the top of the trunnion ring.

Note that the beams 30-35 stand edgewise in respect to the axis of vessel 10 and ring 16 and that the long edges 41 and 42 of concealed beam portion 36 are spaced apart by a distance or height which is equal to the axial distance between the lower surface of top ring flange 20 and the upper surface of lower ring flange 21. In other words, the axial dimension or height of the beams 30-35 is less than the axial dimension or height of the trunnion ring 16 and the beams are entirely within the axial limits of the ring 16. As stated earlier, this construction results in the beam stresses being distributed to all of the components of the trunnion ring 16; that is, to the top and bottom flanges 20 and 21 and to inside wrapper plate 22 and outside wrapper plate 23 and the construction also results in avoiding having the beams bearing solely on or being supported solely from the top and bottom members or flanges 20 and 21 of the trunnion ring.

It should be apparent that if top and bottom flanges 20 and 21 were actually similarly positioned flanges of an- I-beam or channel, assuming that the ring were formed of such structural member, the ends 43 of the beams could be extended into the space between the flanges as with a box girder trunnion ring and welded to the flanges and the web of the structural member. The advantages of having the beam loads on the flanges would still apply.

From the foregoing comments it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the ends of beams 30-35 which are connected to the trunnion ring are effectively cooled so as to maintain the strength which the beam metal has at lower temperatures. This permits use of less metal in the diaphragms or beams than would otherwise be required. It also permits having a larger gap 19 between vessel and trunnion ring 16 so asvto reduce heat transfer to the trunnion ring and to avoid contact and accompanying stresses that might result from vessel 10 becoming unduly distorted after prolonged use. In a practical case, the size of concentric gap 19 was doubled as compared with the gap which was required with previous suspension systems. Because a portion of each beam is covered by the trunnion ring flanges and because of the smooth plane surfaces on the exposed parts of the beams 30-35 there is less opportunity for contaminants to collect on the beams and cleaning costs are reduced. The simplicity of the suspension system also substantially eliminates mechanical maintenance. The vessel may undergo axial thermal expansion without restriction and without stressing the trunnion ring.

When vessel 10 is upright, as in FIG. 1, or inverted, uniform double cantilever stresses are shared by the individual beams 30-35. When vessel 10 and its supporting trunnion ring 16 are tilted so that their axes lie in a horizontal plane as FIG. 2 might be interpreted, one may see that the beams 30-35 are variously loaded or substantially unloaded. Assuming that the vessel axis is horizontal in FIG. 2, substantially all of the vessel load will be carried by the side beams 32 and 35 which are near the trunnion axis. Beam 32 is primarily in compression and beam 35 is in tension. Beams 30 and 31 at the bottom and beams 33 and34 at the top present.

thin sections and flex a little when loaded but do not contribute significantly to carrying the vertically directed vessel load. at this time although they do resist torque which is induced by the center of gravity of the vessel load not coinciding with the tilting axis. In other words, the centerof gravity of the vessel is on one side of the tilting axis, such as the lower side, when the vessel axis is horizontal in which case the vessel tends to tilt back to vertical position. This tends to load upper beams 33 and 34 and lower beams 30 and 31 torsionally and this is the primary stress in these beams when the vessel is horizontal as mentioned above.

A further advantage of the invention is that exposed portions 38 of the beams 30-35 can bend or flex radially to accommodate localized or general distortion of vessel 10 without the danger of excessive internal stresses being developed in metal shell 10. All of the beams can yield inwardly toward the center of the vessel or outwardly toward the trunnion ring and yet the central axis of the vessel will remain in substantial coincidence with the axis of the trunnion ring.

The described embodiment of the invention uses six beams or diaphragms to support the vessel 10 from the trunnion ring 16, but it will be apparent to those versed in the art that more or fewer beams may be used depending on the design characteristics of the suspension members and the mass of the particular vessel which is being supported.

In summary, a new metallurgical vessel suspension system has been described which is distinguished by its simplicity, absence of any frictionally engaged relatively movable parts, requires little maintenance and inspection and allows the vessel and its supporting ring to assume a state of least stress regardless of the distortion which the vessel undergoes. The beams and the entire suspension system may remain intact for reuse on a new vessel after the old vessel has been removed by merely burning off rivet heads or loosening nuts which effect fastening of the free ends of the beams to the vessel. Portions of the beams which are connected to the trunnion ring are cooled most effectively and are near cooling water temperature in which case the maximum strength capabilities of the beams are realized. Stresses are distributed rather than concentrated. The most desirable temperature and thermal stress distribution pattern is obtained along the diaphragms or beams. The suspension system allows unrestricted axial thermal expansion of the vessel. 2

Although a preferred embodiment of the new suspension system has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended to be. illustrative rather than limiting, for the invention may be variously embodied and is to be limited only by interpretation of the claims which follow. 7

I claim:

1. A molten metal processing vessel,

suspension means for said vessel, said suspension means comprising support means and a plurality-of beam means, said supportmeans including first and second interconnected support portions surrounding said vessel, at least one of said portions lying substantially within the plane intersecting the axis of said vessel, said first and second support means portions defin- .'ing the margins of a beam receiving space therebetween presented to said vessel, said plurality of beam means being disposed in spaced apart relation between said support portions and said vessel, each of said beam means having one end extending into the beam receiving space formed by said support portions and having edge portions secured to each of said support portions, the other end of said beam means extending toward and being secured to said vessel. 2. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said beam means comprises an elongated nominally flat member having edge portions secured to said support portions.

3. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second support portions comprise spaced apart members surrounding said vessel and each of which lie in spaced apart planes substantially perpendicular to the axis of said vessel, sadibeam means each extending into the space between said members and having edge portions thereof affixed to said members, and a third support means interconnecting said first and second support portions.

A molten metal processing vessel suspension means comprising:

. said support means comprising spaced apart flange means and inner and outer wrapper plate means defining a hollow structure,

. said beam means extending from between said spaced apart flange means in a common direction into said space, the edges of said one portion of said beam means being welded respectively to both flange means, to-the external wrapper means and to the internal wrapper means where the beam means extends from the latter, said beam means having at least one water circulation hole therethrough.

5. The combination comprising: a. a metal processing vessel, b. support ring means surrounding said vessel with a gap between the vessel and the ring means, said ring means having a tilting axis which is transverse to the axis of the vessel, the ring means and vessel being adapted to tilt jointly, said support ring means including a pair of interconnected portions which are spaced apart in the direction of said vessel axis and which define a gap therebetween,

. a plurality of substantially planar beam means oriented edgewise substantially normal to a plane which is transverse to the axis of said vessel,

(1. each of said beam means having corresponding one end portions having edges fastened to the ring means and extending into the gap formed by said ring portions and having opposite edges thereof rigidly secured to each of said portions, said beam means having another end portion extending tangentially to the vessel, and

means connecting said other end portions of said beam means to said vessel.

6. The combination comprising: a. a metal processing vessel, b. support ring means comprising spaced apart upper and lower members and side members extending axially of said vessel and interconnecting said side members to define hollow ring means surrounding the vessel with a gap between the vessel and thing means, said ring means having a tilting axis which is transverse to the axis of the vessel, the ring means and vessel being adapted to tilt jointly, said support ring means being hollow,

. a plurality of substantially planar beam means oriented edgewise substantially normal to a plane which is transverse to the axis of the vessel,

each of said beam means having corresponding one end portions extending other than perpendicular to said ring means and fastened to the ring means and another end portion extending tangentially to the vessel, and

e. means connecting said other end portions of said beam means to the vessel.

7. The invention set forth in claim 6 wherein:

a. all of said free end portions of said beam means extend angularly from said support means in the same direction about the space within said ring means.

8. The invention set forth in claim 6 wherein:

a. the edges of the said one end portion which is fixed to the ring means are welded to said upper and lower members and said side members.

9. The combination comprising:

aja metallurgical vessel,

b. tiltable support ring means encompassing a space for receiving the vessel,

c. said support ring means having at least one memher having a surface that extends generally parallel to the tilting axis of the ring means and a second member coupled to saidfirst member and having a second surface which defines a beam receiving space with said first surface,

d. a plurality of beam means each of which extend into said space at substantially the same angle and each of which are attached in an edgewise relation to said space defining surfaces,

e. each of said beam means having a corresponding portion extending into said vessel space in a common direction, and

f. means adapted to connect said portions to the vessel.

10. The invention set forth in claim 9 wherein:

a. said beam means are substantially flat elongated members.

11. A molten metal processing vessel,

suspension means for said vessel, said suspension means comprising support means and a plurality of beam means,

said support means including first and second interconnected support portions, one of said portions lying substantially within the plane intersecting the axis of said vessel and the other support portion intersecting said plane, said first and second support means portions defining the margins of a space therebetween presented to said vessel,

said plurality of beam means being disposed in spaced apart relation between said support means and said vessel, each of said beam means having one end extending into the space formed by said support portions and being secured to each of said support portions, the other end of said beam means being secured to said vessel.

12. A molten metal processing vessel, suspension means for said vessel comprising:

a. substantially hollow support means encompassing a space for receiving a vessel therein and comprising upper and lower flange means and internal and external wrapper plate means,

b. a plurality of beam means disposed in spaced relationship on one side of the support means and extending from between said upper and lower flange means in a common direction into said space, each of said beam means having corresponding end portions secured to the support means and other corresponding portions extending into said vessel space, the edges of said one portions of said beam means being secured respectively to both flange means, to the external wrapper plate means, and to the internal wrapper plate means where the beam means extends from the latter,

0. end regions of said other portions of said beam means being adapted to engage and support a vessel disposed in said space.

I I UNITED STATE own 7 CERTIFICATE 2 OF CORRECTION 3,756,583 Dated September 4, 1973 Patent No.

Inventor(s) Rashed N. Nagati rs in the above-idntifiedpatent It is certified that error appea I by corrected as shown below:

and that said Letters Patent arehere In Claim 3, column 6, line 66, *"sadi'? should be said".

In Claim 6, column 7, line 57, "'thing" should be- "ring".

Signed and sealed this "1st; day .of October 1974.

(SEAL) Attest: 'McCOY M. GIBSON JR. c. MARSHALL DANN. I

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents UscoMM-oc 663704 69 u s. GOVIRKMENT 'RINTNG OFFICE 2 O'-355'33,

FORM PO-1050(i0-59) 

1. A molten metal processing vessel, suspension means for said vessel, said suspension means comprising support means and a plurality of beam means, said support means including first and second interconnected support portions surrounding said vessel, at least one of said portions lying substantially within the plane intersecting the axis of said vessel, said first and second support means portions defining the margins of a beam receiving space therebetween presented to said vessel, said plurality of beam means being disposed in spaced apart relation between said support portions and said vessel, each of said beam means having one end extending into the beam receiving space formed by said support portions and having edge portions secured to each of said support portions, the other end of said beam means extending toward and being secured to said vessel.
 2. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said beam means comprises an elongated nominally flat member having edge portions secured to said support portions.
 3. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second support portions comprise spaced apart members surrounding said vessel and each of which lie in spaced apart planes substantially perpendicular to the axis of said vessel, sadi beam means each extending into the space between said members and having edge portions thereof affixed to said members, and a third support means interconnecting said first and second support portions.
 4. A molten metal processing vessel suspension means comprising: a. support means encompassing a space for receiving a vessel therein, b. a plurality of beam means disposed in spaced relation on one side of said support means, each of said beam means having corresponding end portions secured to the support means and the other corresponding end extending into the vessel space, c. end regions of said other portions of said beam means being adapted to engage and support a vessel disposed in said space, d. said support means comprising spaced apart flange means and inner and outer wrapper plate means defining a hollow structure, e. said beam means extending from between said spaced apart flange means in a common direction into said space, the edges of said one portion of said beam means being welded respectively to both flange means, to the external wrapper means and to the internal wrapper means where the beam means extends from the latter, said beam means having at least one water circulation hole therethrough.
 5. The combination comprising: a. a metal processing vessel, b. support ring means surrounding said vessel with a gap between the vessel and the ring means, said ring means having a tilting axis which is transverse to the axis of the vessel, the ring means and vessel being adapted to tilt jointly, said support ring means including a pair of interconnected portions which are spaced apart in the direction of said vessel axis and which define a gap therebetween, c. a plurality of substantially planar beam means oriented edgewise substantially normal to a plane which is transverse to the axis of said vessel, d. each of said beam means having corresponding one end portions having edges fastened to the ring means and extending into the gap formed by said ring portions and having opposite edges thereof rigidly secured to each of said portions, said beam means having another end portion extending tangentially to the vessel, and e. means connecting said other end portions of said beam means to said vessel.
 6. The combination comprising: a. a metal processing vessel, b. support ring means comprising spaced apart upper and lower members and side members extending axially of said vessel and interconnecting said side members to define hollow ring means surrounding the vessel with a gap between the vessel and thing means, said ring means having a tilting axis which is transverse to the axis of the vessel, the ring means and vessel being adapted to tilt jointly, said support ring means being hollow, c. a plurality of substantially planar beam means oriented edgewise substantially normal to a plane which is transverse to the axis of the vessel, d. each of said beam means having corresponding one end portions extending other than perpendicular to said ring means and fastened to the ring means and another end portion extending tangentially to the vessel, and e. means connecting said other end portions of said beam means to the vessel.
 7. The invention set forth in claim 6 wherein: a. all of said free end portions of said beam means extend angularly from said support means in the same direction about the space within said ring means.
 8. The invention set forth in claim 6 wherein: a. the edges of the said one end portion which is fixed to the ring means are welded to said upper and lower members and said side members.
 9. The combination comprising: a. a metallurgical vessel, b. tiltable support ring means encompassing a space for receiving the vessel, c. said support ring means having at least one member having a surface that extends generally parallel to the tilting axis of the ring means and a second member coupled to said first member and having a second surface which defines a beam receiving space with said first surface, d. a plurality of beam means each of which extend into said space at substantially the same angle and each of which are attached in an edgewise relation to said space defining surfaces, e. each of said beam means having a corresponding portion extending into said vessel space in a common direction, and f. means adapted to connect said portions to the vessel.
 10. The invention set forth in claim 9 wherein: a. said beam means are substantially flat elongated members.
 11. A molten metal processing vessel, suspension means for said vessel, said suspension means comprising support means and a plurality of beam means, said support means including first and second interconnected support portions, one of said portions lying substantially within the plane intersecting the axis of said vessel and the other support portion intersecting said plane, said first and second support means portions defining the margins of a space therebetween presented to said vessel, said plurality of beam means being disposed in spaced apart relation between said support means and said vessel, each of said beam means having one end extending into the space formed by said support portions and being secured to each of said support portions, the other end of said beam means being secured to said vessel.
 12. A molten metal processing vessel, suspension means for said vessel comprising: a. substantially hollow support means encompassing a space for receiving a vessel therein and comprising upper and lower flange means and internal and external wrapper plate means, b. a plurality of beam means disposed in spaced relationship on one side of the support means and extending from between said upper and lower flange means in a common direction into said space, each of said beam means having corresponding end portions secured to the support means and other corresponding portions extending into said vessel space, the edges of said one portions of said beam means being secured respectively to both flange means, to the external wrapper plate means, and to the internal wrapper plate means where the beam means extends from the latter, c. end regions of said other portions of said beam means being adapted to engage and support a vessel disposed in said space.
 13. The invention set forth in claim 12 wherein said beam means comprises an elongated nominally flat member having edge portions secured to said support beam portions. 